1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a disengageable ski binding.
1. Description of the Prior Art
In the case of virtually all ski bindings which are currently available on the market, a front boot-retaining unit and a rear boot-retaining unit are arranged on the ski, the front boot-retaining unit interacting in a form-fitting manner with the toe end, and the rear boot-retaining unit interacting in a form-fitting manner with the heel end, of the “standard” sole of a ski boot. To be precise, the front boot-retaining unit prevents the toe end of the sole from moving forward in the longitudinal direction of the ski and from moving in the direction of the vertical and transverse axes of the ski, while the rear boot-retaining unit secures the heel end of the sole against moving rearward in the longitudinal direction of the ski and against moving in the direction of the vertical and transverse axes of the ski.
Such bindings have reached a high standard of development and a high level of reliability. In principle, however, they have the disadvantage that any dirt which accumulates between the soles and boot-retaining units may influence the disengaging behavior.
Consequently, U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,524 has already developed ski bindings in the case of which the ski boot stands on a standing and/or carrying plate of the binding, it being possible for this plate to be rotated about a vertical ski axis counter to an adjustable resistance. With the boot inserted into the binding, the boot sole is fixed on the carrying plate by means of boot-retaining elements on the plate, which interact with mating elements on the sole.
If the skier' boot or foot tries to execute a rotary movement with respect to the vertical axis of the ski when the skier falls, the resistance to rotation which is to be overcome during this rotary movement is determined, in the case of a binding according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,524, exclusively by elements of the binding which can be arranged, in principle, such that they are protected against dirt, for example, according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,524, within the standing and/or carrying plate.
Nevertheless, the binding according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,524 still does not have a satisfactorily reproducible behavior. The resistance to rotation which counteracts rotation of the standing and/or carrying plate about the vertical axis is determined by a spring arrangement which also gives rise to the disengaging resistance of the boot-retaining elements on the plate. The arrangement here is such that, during rotation of the standing and/or carrying plate about the vertical axis, the boot-retaining elements attain an increasing clearance for movement in the direction of their boot-releasing position. Conversely, the standing and/or carrying plate attains a clearance for rotation as soon as the boot-retaining elements are adjusted in the direction of their boot-releasing position by relative movements between the standing and/or carrying plate and boot sole. It is thus possible for dirt which is found between the standing and/or carrying plate and boot sole to influence, on the one hand, the disengaging behavior of the binding and, on the other hand, the restoring behavior of the binding within its so-called region of elasticity, within which disruptive forces acting on the binding result in movements of the binding elements or parts, but not in the binding being disengaged, with the result that, as the disruptive force dissipates again, the binding can be restored into the normal state, in which the boot is fixed in a predetermined desired position.